Hunter Nourzad film review: Meet the Chiefs' newest interior OL
Examining the film of the Veach's latest attempt at an OL steal.
There’s a significant possibility that changes are coming to the Chiefs interior offensive line after multiple years of stability. Or at least, one change.
Following the disastrous injury-ridden Super Bowl LV loss to the Bucs, Brett Veach knew that the time had come to completely overhaul the offensive line. The interior had been leaky for years, and both Eric Fisher and Mitch Schwartz were hurt.
While the tackle position has been a bit more in flux since that time (though they’ve generally gotten passable play there), the interior of the offensive line was overhauled prior to the 2021 season in a way that has remained rock-solid since that time. Veach signed Joe Thuney to a massive contract at guard to add stability to the line, then drafted Creed Humphrey (2nd round) and Trey Smith (6th round) in the 2021 draft. It was one of the most successful overhauls of a position group I’ve ever seen, and resulted in the Chiefs going from a poor interior OL to the very best in the entire league.
Now, three years later, Thuney/Humphrey/Smith remains the best interior in the league. However, Thuney’s contract has ballooned to being a $26 million cap hit in each of the next two seasons, and both Humphrey and Smith will be free agents after this season. There’s basically no way for the Chiefs to pay everyone here, so in all likelihood at least one will be gone next season.
All that is a background to say it’s no surprise the Chiefs drafted interior offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad in the 5th round of the draft. (NOTE- the first draft said 4th round. I need a nap)
Nourzad, who has started all over the offensive line at Cornell and Penn State (seriously, he’s played RT, guard, and center as a collegiate player), is very likely the future at one position along the interior OL for Kansas City. At least, that’s the plan. By grabbing him now, the Chiefs can see how he adapts to the NFL and give him a year to adjust to the game before he’s needed (barring injury).
Nourzad is a pick that my colleagues at
loved, and that alone made me excited for the pick at the time. But of course, we don’t know much about OL draftees without looking at their film. And so, just like I have with the Xavier Worthy, Kingsley Suamataia, Jared Wiley, and Jaden Hicks, I looked at multiple games of the 6’3”, 317-pound lineman to see how his strengths and weaknesses stack up in Kansas City. I’ll be utilizing the same methodology I did with Suamataia, looking at how he works in the upper body, lower body, handfighting, his lateral agility, his awareness, his athleticism in space, and an overall takeaway.Let’s talk Nourzad’s film.
Upper body
One of Nourzad’s best traits is his overall strong upper body. He’s got a good punch that lands well consistently and can jar opponents. He also has noticeably strong hands and has the ability to “freeze” defenders in place once he gets ahold of them in pass protection. Further, the power her has in his upper body (combined with consistently good hand placement allows him to displace defenders completely at times. He can bench press rushers off his body or force them to the side and off-balance as they try to rush.
